Jazz Series Wraps Up with Bassoonist Paul Hanson

TAHLEQUAH - Northeastern State University’s Green Country Jazz Series will culminate with the appearance of jazz bassoonist Paul Hanson in concert with the NSU Jazz Ensemble. The concert takes place on Thursday April 12, at 8 p.m. in the NSU Jazz Lab.

Hanson is widely considered as a true innovator on the bassoon, rewriting the rulebook and setting new standards for what is possible on a traditionally coded classical music instrument. From his roots as an award-winning classical bassoonist and jazz saxophonist, Hanson has sought to expand the lexicon of the bassoon while creating a unique musical voice.

He has recorded or performed on bassoon with Bela Fleck and the Flecktones, Wayne Shorter, Medeski Martin & Wood, Bob Weir’s RATDOG, Peter Erskine, Billy Childs, Billy Higgins, Ray Charles, Charlie Hunter, and on saxophone with Eddie Money, Boz Scaggs, and the Temptations. Recently, Hanson was the featured improviser on a Brazilian tour of Cirque du Soleli, performing on bassoon, saxophone, and keyboards, and performed nationally on a PBS special with one of his numerous projects, a Jewish-inspired musical collective called DAVKA.

“Paul has been referred to as the best kept secret in jazz, playing on perhaps the most awkward of instruments,” said Arthur White, NSU director of Jazz Studies. “Yet he performs the most mind-boggling solos and is truly one of the great improvisers of this era.”